by P. K. Tyler
Nik wondered if there was a method to the madness as to who lived where. "Which one's the Hernes' place?"
Vai gestured to the first house on the left. "Ma and Dika's brother lived there."
Dorenia indicated the first house on the right. "Before I married Landin, I lived there. Our sister, Elikia, lives there now. She was to marry the Hernes boy, an only child, but the same sickness that took his parents took him as well."
"And the house in the middle?"
"That's for our Bino-Wuzhokh." She looked at Vai with obvious pride, then kissed her on the cheeks and wrapped her arms around her for a long moment. Dorenia whispered in her sister's ear, too low for Nik to hear.
Vai's face grew dark, her expression hard. "Oh, I'll talk to him, all right. He wants to finish this business, wrap things up? I can do that."
Nik had a feeling Riley was about to get exactly what he was asking for.
Dorenia paled, but she only shook her head and left to join Landin in their home.
Vai stalked off, into the first house on the left: the Hernes' place.
Nik followed her up two steps and past a simple wood door into a run down trailer. The wide front room contained various seating options including a sofa, mismatched kitchen and folding chairs, and even a few beanbags. The kitchenette lined the wall to his right and housed only the necessities: a small fridge for cold storage, a sink in the middle, and a stove to the right. The few cabinets in the room hung above the appliances.
There was no table, and only one other door in the room. Vai opened the door and turned on the hall light. She pointed to the door at the end, "That goes back outside. There’s two bedrooms, but you should take the master, that’s where the shower is. It's the room on the left.
A knock on the door interrupted the tour.
Riley didn't wait for an answer, or for someone to open the door, he just walked right on in. He nodded to Nik by way of greeting, then stood with his hands clasped together before himself. Nik thought he looked like he was waiting to see the Queen of England herself instead of Vai.
She moved through the front rooms, pushing chairs into whatever sort of order she thought they needed to be in.
"Nik, could you give us a moment?"
"Sure, I think I'll give that shower a try."
He cringed at his pathetic desire to flee the room. Now he knew how Vai felt every time he and Zeph were fighting.
Nik escaped to the master bedroom but the thin walls didn’t leave the couple much privacy. Her words haunted him for more reasons than he could name.
"You want me to accept you as my husband so that I will become Bino-Wuzhokh. What you seem completely unable to understand is that you are not the man who can do that for me."
What does she mean by that?
He stripped out of his clothes in the bathroom.
There were no towels.
Great. I'll just drip dry, then. It'll be just like the good ole days.
If Zeph were there, he'd appreciate Nik's sarcasm.
Nik turned on the water and gasped when the cold pelted him. The pressure was startling. It felt like bullets were raining down on him. After the water heated up, though, the hard flow massaged the muscles in his neck and back. Nik washed up quickly, and turned the water off, doing his best to fling droplets off his skin and wait until he was dry enough to put his clothes back on.
He heard the front door slam, and the shower door shook from the impact. Nik wondered if he should go back in now or give her a moment. It might have been Vai storming out of the house, but she didn't have a tendency to lose her temper and throw things. That was more Zeph's speed.
A knock sounded out in the bedroom and Nik nearly jumped out of his skin. He heard Vai’s muffled voice through the flimsy walls.
"Hey, whenever you're done, come out front."
Nik found her sitting in a high-backed wicker chair near the kitchenette. She'd pulled another one close, and he sat next to her.
“You probably think I’m being overly mean to Riley,” Vai said.
Nik shrugged. “It’s not really my business.”
“No, but it’s all tied together.” She looked over at him, her eyes sad. “Nothing we do is just about us, being the Bino-Wuzhokh means the last person we can really think about is ourselves, and the thing is, I do care about Riley and would probably be happy with him, but I don’t have that luxury.”
“What are you talking about?”
"It isn't uncommon for Romani fathers to choose a husband for their daughters. My father did for Dorenia, and will do the same for Elikia. He chose Riley for me, but he doesn't understand what he's demanding of me, and Ma won't speak out against him."
A whistle sounded from the corner, and she stood to pour hot water into two mugs sitting on the counter. She left them there to steep.
"I guess you could say he's this community's leader. If a decision needs to be made, one that will impact the people collectively, he has the final say. He consults Ma, but the decision rests with him.
He would have me marry Riley and take my place as Bino-Wuzhokh--"
Nik interrupted, "But you don't need to be married to be a Sin Eater. To exorcise demons and send them back to Hell. Doesn't he know that?"
"There's more to it than that, Nik. According to lore, there are dangers to this world that you and I can't even imagine. Everything we've faced? There are worse things out there. Much worse.
The Romani believe that for each of us there is another that makes us whole, stronger. This is of the utmost importance for the Bino-Wuzhokh. Accepting, truly accepting another as your own, and accepting that you are a part of them, allows you to be more powerful than you can possibly imagine." She wore a far off expression, but her eyes lit up with wonder.
"I've seen it, Nik, very recently." She met his gaze again, the fervor in hers alarming. "You and Zeph. You're both still fighting against it, and maybe it's because you're both men and the world has a fucked up opinion on who should love whom. But you and Zeph together have something I've never seen before. When I'm near the two of you, the hairs on my arms stand on end. You've been attracted to other men, yes?"
Nik nodded. His heart was pounding in his chest. He could barely hear beyond the rushing in his ears.
"But none of them have ever made you feel what Zeph did. What he does."
What did Zeph make him feel? Frustrated. Furious, even, sometimes. Horny as hell, that was for sure, and...powerful? When he let Nik close, for a brief moment, Nik felt like he had everything, like he could do anything. He felt free and yes, powerful.
"Now that I've seen it, I know what I've been missing." She stood and walked back over to the mugs. Instead of waiting for her to fix their tea, he walked over to stand beside her as she worked.
"What about Riley? How do you know he's not the one for you?"
"Can you live without Zeph? If he died tomorrow, would you be able to keep living like nothing had happened?"
Nik's throat was too thick to answer.
"Exactly. I can live without Riley."
"Vai, that's harsh."
"But not untrue. I care for him. He is a member of my people. He's family. But he's not the one for me, and I'm no good for him. It wouldn't be fair. I've never been more sure than I am now.
Ma accepted this. My father won't. He believes his choice of husband for me is sufficient and that I can only fill the role of Bino-Wuzhokh to its fullest potential with a husband at my side. What he doesn't understand is that the Bino-Wuzhokh's other can't be chosen.
If I marry Riley, accept him as my own and turn my back on my destined other, I will never truly be Bino-Wuzhokh."
"That must have been hard for Riley to hear."
She nodded, staring into the cup of tea she'd been stirring for minutes. Apparently it hadn't given her any answers or comfort.
"He is a good man. I hated to be so cruel to him, but this has to stop. After we leave here, I won't come back for a while. It's easier for me, and, I think, for t
hem." She looked up at Nik, her eyes almost frantic, like a child lost.
"It's not pride, Nik. Really, it's not. I know what people think of me, that I'm headstrong and stubborn. But I'm the only one who can save my people from evil. The only one in this community born to be a Bino-Wuzhokh. I can't sacrifice that to appease my father's will, or my people's tradition, or even to soothe Riley's damaged ego. I'm doing what's right. I'm sure of it."
Nik wrapped his arms around her, wishing he knew the right words to comfort Vai. Wishing Zeph were there. He'd know what to say, what to do.
They stood there long enough for their tea to grow cold, him holding her as she heaved and cried as though she hadn't done so for years and years. Strange as it was to comfort her, it felt right, like he was exactly where he was meant to be. He'd never had family other than Zeph, but this felt like what other people meant when they talked about home.
Finally, she took a few deep, calming breaths and straightened, pulling away from him. She used her shirt to finish drying her tears.
Nik put a hand on her shoulder. "For what it's worth, I think you're doing the right thing. No one should be forced into marriage for any reason. It's as simple as that."
She gave him a shaky smile, and seemed to settle into a state of peace. Or exhaustion. "Thanks, Nik." Vai glanced at the mugs of cold tea on the counter and laughed. "Well, I feel better now."
"Good. Let's get some rest. I'm pretty sure we'll have a big day ahead of us tomorrow."
"Oh, no doubt. We'll go see Ma again tomorrow, then we'll go home."
"Home. Sounds good. Feels like I've been gone forever, ya know?"
She just smiled, and left him to his trailer away from home.
Chapter Eight
The next morning, Ma leaned on the table and pushed herself to standing, the vibrancy in her eyes apparently not extending to her body. They'd finished eating breakfast and Dika had busied herself cleaning up.
Nik jumped up to grab her elbow but Ma shook him off.
"It's just a body, doesn't have much use beyond getting from here to there. Now, come.," She stepped away from the table and led the way further into the house.
Dika watched with a crooked smile and when Nik looked back, she waved him on and returned to shuffling her cards.
Ma crossed the threshold into the small living room and turned right, then made another immediate right and opened the door to a small bedroom. As she walked, Ma spoke.
"In times when there were no Gods, just men and beasts and those who brought creation to be, there were rules. Rules on how to live, how to be."
"Like Adam and Eve?" Nik snorted.
She crossed the room, passing one door on her left and stopping before the second.
"Yes and no. I don't know their names, just know they were there then and are here now. Still from one line, still the same blood. Over the years, the rules bent and twisted. Some of those who were creators turned to destruction. Some of those who wrote the stories lied."
Nik kept his thoughts to himself, but couldn't help the wry grin that appeared. He wondered if any of the stories were true. He didn't fully trust any of them. He'd been more inclined to listen to Ma, but it seemed like she was going to feed him the same lines, just a different version.
Ma pulled out a skeleton key made of some dark stone material with flecks of bright red throughout. The red veins sparkled even in the dim light of the room.
"Everything we are, all that we can be, is in the blood. You see, Nikolai? The entirety of existence revolves around nothing more simple, nothing more precious, than the blood."
Ma placed the key in the lock, but didn't turn it. She pulled a piece of chalk out of her apron and drew a symbol on the wall.
As it became more elaborate, Nik sucked in a breath. "Aramaic?"
"No," Ma continued to add to the pattern as she spoke, "Enochian."
"There's no such thing," Nik said on instinct, instantly regretting his words.
"Them that made us, some of them ruled over the others, some of them fell, some of them loved, and some of them still watch over us. This is their language."
"Angels..." for the first time since he met her, Vai sounded awed.
Ma put the chalk back into her pocket and indicated the key and the symbol on the door.
“This key doesn't work without the symbol, and the symbol doesn't work without the words. Enochian words. Only those who carry the Blood of The Galilean can use the key, symbol, and words. None of it works without the blood."
She twisted the key in the lock, turning the knob with one hand and pushing the symbol on the door with the other.
The key sparked and red light surrounded them, pulsing to the rhythm of his heartbeat. The light became so intense, Nik held his arm up to his face, shielding his eyes from its brilliance. When it faded and he dared to look again, he found himself in the same room, but the door stood open.
"Vai? Ma?" he called and stepped through the door.
Inside, Vai stood embracing a vibrant woman, barely older than him. She wore every color in the rainbow, her long skirt a dull green and her blonde hair pulled back in the front in braids.
"Ma?" he asked again, stepping fully through the door, which clicked shut behind him.
"Nikolai, so lovely to see you with clearer eyes. How handsome you are." She smiled and embraced him tightly, her arms strong and her skin smooth.
"What’s going on?"
"This is who I truly am, who I am within. Look at Vai."
When he focused on Vai, her eyes held none of the critical judgment he usually found. She looked the same, but her entire countenance exuded peace. And she smiled at him.
"Where are we? How is this possible?"
"This, my children, is the Crypt of Relics, the ancient words and forgotten ways are all stored here, entrusted to those like me."
"But not like us?" Vai asked.
"No. We are both of the blood, but you were called to battle, to fight on the front lines against evil. I am the keeper of your secrets, the memory of all those who came before you. When I'm gone, another will be called to take my place. Maybe from our home, maybe from elsewhere."
The room looked more like a library than a crypt, although there were some strange boxes and ancient looking urns placed haphazardly throughout the room, shoved onto shelves amongst stacks of books. Nik didn't see any lights, but the room glowed from within.
"Okay, I need to know more. Why do you look like that? Are you not really old?"
"Nik!" Vai scolded.
"I'm sorry but this is insane. You look like you just lost 200 pounds of worry in seconds and she's like 70 years younger and there's no way there was room for all this in that house."
Vai stared at him in horror as he spouted off his questions and Ma just smiled.
"Come, let me show you through the stacks. There is more here than just this room."
"No, I'm sorry Ma, but I can't just take a fucking tour! Where the hell are we, and what is going on? Enochian? And Jesus? What the ever-loving fuck?"
Vai shifted her weight from foot to foot, looking everywhere but at Nik. The air around her seemed to tighten with her discomfort and her usual worry showed on her face again. The lightness he'd noticed before drifted away.
"Vai, don't let him upset you." Ma placed a hand on the girl's back and immediately her light returned.
"And what the fuck is that?"
Ma chuckled and wrapped an arm around Vai's waist. "Nik, look at yourself."
He glanced down and noticed that his jeans and jacket had turned to stone, but he could still move. The hard substance coated his hands and when he reached up, he found his face and hair were made of malleable rock as well. The feeling of it was so alien, but still felt like himself. "What's happening to me?"
"Come sit down." Ma turned and walked away, leaving no room for argument. If he wanted answers, he had to follow.
Vai shuffled after Ma, refusing to look at Nik as he followed. His footsteps rang out with
a thud, the rock slamming heavily against the wooden floor.
Ma led them around a corner and to a large table, the kind you would find in a University Library filled with students sifting from archaic information in piles of thick books.
"Sit."
Nik hesitated. "What if I break the chair?"
Ma laughed again and gestured for him to join her.
He sat and found that while his body had hardened, it moved the same as always, he could even feel the brush of his hair against his back. Once Vai and Nik settled into their seats, she spoke.
"This place is outside of our world. It exists in another place entirely, a place governed by rules we don't completely understand. One of the first Oracles created it. Many doors exist here leading to other points of power. As the Sin Eaters and Oracles are needed in new locations, the doors move with them. But only those who know the symbols of the Angels and Demons, those who possess the keys of life, and only those of the blood can enter.
"I was never a Bino-Wuzhokh like you. My role has always been to guide you, Vai, to teach you and help you find your way. You and any others we find." She smiled at Nik.
"You're an Oracle?" Nik asked.
"I see the paths that lay out before you like a many armed warrior, but only you can choose which to take."
"What about this?" Nik held up his rock encrusted hand.
"Here, we are the manifestation of our true selves. When you arrived, you appeared barely fifteen years old, young and so full of hope, but as fear crept in, your armor appeared and you sealed your heart off behind a wall of rock. The metaphors we use in our reality take form here. It can be a dangerous place for those who don't know themselves."
"So you aren't really old?"
"Oh I am, older than you even think. But here you see my heart and my mind, still as vibrant as when I was your age."
Ma took the red key back out of her pocket and set it on the table.
As Nik stared at it a sense of peace and rightness came over him and the rock covering his flesh began to fall away. Bit by bit turned to dust and fell off, disappearing into nothing in the air. He felt like he was evaporating, and, for some reason, like he could finally breathe.
